


I'm Sick of This (Heartsick)

by Tinywriterfairy



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Office, Communication, Gen, Getting Together, M/M, Miscommunication, Misunderstandings, Polyamory, background Johnkun, background Yuten
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-30
Updated: 2019-10-30
Packaged: 2021-01-08 03:14:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,763
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21228842
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tinywriterfairy/pseuds/Tinywriterfairy
Summary: Doyoung can't believe it when Jaehyun and Jungwoo come into the office wearing couple sweaters. It's infuriating, and much too cute. So is he more annoyed at the sweaters or that he doesn't have one?#S093





	I'm Sick of This (Heartsick)

Doyoung almost snapped his pen when Jaehyun and Jungwoo came into the office in couple sweaters. They were cute sweaters; on any other couple he might even have cooed at the picture they made. But this? He could not, would not, admit to finding anything Jaehyun did cute, even if objectively he and Jungwoo made the perfect couple. At least he sat at the other end of the room from both their desks.

Sicheng peered over the plant practically dividing their desks. “What’s got you worked up?”

“Nothing.” Doyoung placed his pen at the edge of his desk. “Everything is fine. Why would you ask?”

“Sure.” Sicheng sat back. “Just don’t come crying to me when you break all your pens.”

“Shut the fuck up.”

Sicheng flipped him off and they both went back to work.

The pen survived the day only because it wasn’t within easy reach when Jaehyun sauntered over to his desk. Doyoung kept typing. It gave him something to do rather than look up. “What do you want, Jung?”

“Can’t I just want to talk to my good colleague Doie?”

“Not when market analyses aren't done. And don’t call me Doie.”

“But it’s cute. Don’t you think it’s cute?” Jaehyun leaned closer in that annoying couple sweater. How could he still look good wearing that?

“No, it’s not cute. And I’m in the middle of work. Do you mind?”

Jaehyun sighed. “Yeah, I’ll get out of your way. Try to relax a little, won’t you?”

He definitely didn’t stare as Jaehyun walked back to his desk. He didn’t see Jaehyun stop at Jungwoo’s desk to talk to him, kiss his cheek, and he certainly didn’t turn just in time to avoid being spotted. Doyoung forced his way back into the world of numbers.

Doyoung leaned back in his chair to stretch and almost hit Jungwoo.

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry.” He pulled away, but Jungwoo just waved, smiling.

“It’s fine, really. I just wanted to ask if you wanted to come have lunch with me and Jaehyun?”

“I …” another hour in Jaehyun’s company without work to hide behind? Doyoung fidgeted.

Jungwoo pouted. “Please? I don’t want to have to remind you that you almost hit me.”

“You—” he had to laugh. “Fine. Sure, thanks. I didn’t bring food with me, is that okay?”

“Of course it is.” Jungwoo hooked his arm through Doyoung’s and led him to the 6th floor tables where Jaehyun waited.

He waved when they sat. “Did you finish your market analyses?”

“Some of them.” Doyoung tried to help Jungwoo unpack the lunches he’d apparently brought, but Jungwoo wouldn’t let him. “The others can wait until I eat. Are you two working on the same project still, or did Taeyong split you up?”

“No, we’re still working together.” Jungwoo passed over his portion of lunch, gave Jaehyun his, and dug in himself.

“It’s going really well.” Jaehyun perked up either at the food or at the chance to talk about the project. As long as they talked about work, nothing could annoy him too badly.

***

Doyoung let his head fall into the dinner table. “It’s so annoying.” Taeyong and Taeil’s grandfather clock ticked relentlessly from the other room. At least they’d sprung for a house with a dining room they actually used so he could sit in a chair to eat while visiting.

“Why is it annoying, though?” Taeyong poked Doyoung until he straightened. “Jaehyun and Jungwoo are perfectly nice. I should know, I hired both of them.”

“Yeah, they’re nice to you because you’re the boss, not to mention married to the other boss.” 

Taeil cocked his head next to Taeyong. “Jungwoo’s nice to everyone, though. And I don’t remember you complaining about him before. Just Jaehyun.”

Doyoung played with his fork. “Yeah, Jungwoo’s nice. That’s part of the problem. Jaehyun’s annoying, Jungwoo’s nice, and together they’re making my life hell.”

“Because you like them and you’re gay panicking**?”**

“No.” Doyoung took a bite of pasta. “Because they’re getting in the way of my work.”

“You got all your work done today, though.” Taeyong pointed across the room at his laptop. “You even got ahead on our next project.”

“I—” Doyoung groaned.

“I think it’s more that they’re flirting with him,” Taeil said to Taeyong. “He doesn’t know what to do with it.”

“They are not flirting with me!” They could not be flirting with him. He stabbed the pasta.

“Sure.”

“How do you even know this? You’re never even in our department.”

Taeil shrugged. “Johnny and Yuta talk about it a lot. Not to mention the interns gossip all the time.”

Doyoung whacked the table. “Donghyuck’s telling stories, isn’t he?”

“Don’t pretend you don’t like Donghyuck. He’s cute.”

“He’s good at his work, yes. But he’s also a pain in the ass.”

“Is he that bad?” Taeil checked. “I’ve always thought he seemed like a cute kid.”

“He’s a cute kid,” Taeyong confirmed. “But he’s also a little shit.”

“And a pain in the ass.”

“And a pain in the ass for Doyoung, apparently. But that’s not the point! The point is, our cute office couple is flirting with you and I think you should let them take you on a date.”

“You’re being stupid. They’re not flirting with me.” There was no way that the perfectly-cute, couple sweater-wearing office couple had any interest in him.

“Well,” Taeil poured out some more wine. “Either way, you should get laid. You look frustrated.”

Doyoung almost choked on his drink. “Excuse you, I do not.”

“You do,” Taeyong patted him sympathetically. “It's been a while.”

“Shut the fuck up.”

Doyoung almost regretted coming over for dinner as they continued to tease him.

After the third time Donghyuck tried to switch old case files around under the guise of “giving your aging eyes some practice,” Doyoung had enough. He handed Donghyuck the last of their current folders. “Take this to Jung. You know enough about the case to answer his questions, so I want you to stay with him.”

“But—” Doyoung held Donghyuck’s gaze until he caved. He pulled the folder against himself. “Fine.”

And off he went. Doyoung had peace for all of ten minutes until Jungwoo came by his desk with a case of files. Doyoung sat a little straighter. “Hey, Jungwoo, what’s up?”

Jungwoo hefted the stack. “I’m having a little trouble with the Han account and I thought a second opinion might help. Unless you’re busy, of course. I wouldn’t want to bother you.”

“No, no.” Doyoung cleared space on his desk. “It’s fine. Please, sit.”

He ignored the stare burning into his back from his desk neighbor. “So what exactly is the problem?”

Jungwoo opened the top file. “Well, I’ve been having trouble getting started with this, so I thought you might be able to explain it to me?” Something about the way he looked over didn’t quite fit.

Doyoung’s neck warmed. “That can happen. Can you show me the file?”

“I can show you anything you’d like.”

Sicheng snorted quietly. Doyoung flicked a paperclip at him without looking away from the file. Jungwoo passed the file over and Doyoung threw himself into the work. They were at it most of the day. 

When they finished, he waved goodbye to Jungwoo and practically collapsed into his seat. The brief respite was ruined when Jaehyun marched Donghyuck back to Doyoung’s desk. “Thanks for the loan of your intern, but I’m done with him.” Jaehyun released Donghyuck, leaning on Doyoung’s desk. 

“Right.” Doyoung gave Donghyuck one of the files Jungwoo had left behind. “Can you take this back to Jungwoo?”

“So Woo did end up here with that project?”

“Yes.”

Donghyuck glanced between them, took the folder, and dashed off. He’d probably report whatever he made of things to Mark, and it would end up all over the other department by the end of the day. Great. Doyoung put away some loose papers. “Did you need something else?”

“I’m not allowed to like your company?”

“First, we’re at work, so no. Second, I’m pretty sure it’s annoying me you enjoy more than my company, so no.”

Jaehyun pouted. “I’ll leave you alone then.”

His desk was the neatest it had been all day. It was colder, too, without anyone there to bother him. Doyoung finished up his work for the day and pulled on his coat before anything else. Across the room, Jaehyun helped Jungwoo put on his coat. They walked out holding hands, though Jungwoo waved goodbye as they left. Jungwoo had said something earlier about catching a movie. Doyoung was the last one in the office again.

He slapped off the lights. He marched to the subway. The ride home was, as usual, short but boring. And cold. It was a relief to slip into his apartment and greet Mao as she wound around his feet, purring.

***

The morning began with a discussion of office romance. Doyoung walked into the office to find Johnny lounging on Jaehyun’s desk while the two traded what were apparently date stories.

“So Kun just dragged me back to his house and made me watch while he cooked a better version of what the restaurant tried to feed us. He was so irritated about it, it was adorable.” Okay, that was kind of cute. Doyoung hung up his coat.

Jaehyun laughed. “Jungwoo would just have made them take the food back, I think. He surprised me with this nice little place downtown the other day.” 

Too cute. Doyoung stomped past the two chatterers. Johnny, at least, must have noticed, but he didn't say anything. Why did those two have to be so cute? Doyoung escaped to his work space. Yuta lounged on Doyoung’s desk, chatting with Sicheng.

“Get off my desk, Yuta.”

Yuta grinned and didn’t move. “Good morning to you, too. Is that any way to greet your good friend?”

Doyoung blinked at him. “Since when are we good friends? You switched all my file labels around just last week.”

“It was meant in good fun,” Yuta whined, but he got off the desk. “I’ll talk to you later, Winwinie.”

“Bye.” Sicheng laughed. Doyoung chuckled with him. 

“Why does he call you that?” Doyoung set his briefcase down by the side of his desk. Yuta had skulked off to Jaehyun's desk; he was probably dodging questions about Ten.

“He started calling me that when we were in college because I never lost any of the games we played.”

“Huh.” Doyoung sat to boot up his computer. Jungwoo came into the office. He made a beeline for Jaehyun's desk. Doyoung opened an email from Taeyong about their new client. He really was too informal a boss, even if they had known each other since before Taeyong had met Taeil, let alone started their company. Jungwoo said something to Yuta. Doyoung answered the email as they headed for his desk. 

“Will you be nice to me if I have Jungwoo to protect me, Doyoungie?”

“Fuck off, I was just pointing out facts. Hi, Jungwoo.” Jungwoo waved.

“You're evil and you deserve every prank Hyuck and I can come up with.” Yuta stuck his tongue out when Doyoung flipped him off. “Anyway, Jungwoo has something to ask you.” He waved Jungwoo forward.

“I don’t know if you heard; we’re all going for dinner and drinks after work since we wrapped up the Choi project.” Jungwoo played with one of the rings he always wore. “I'm trying to get a head count for the reservation. Will you come with us?”

“I …” he really, really just wanted to go home and sleep off the project. Jungwoo looked down at him with puppy eyes he surely contrived on purpose. They still worked. “Okay, sure. Thanks for inviting me.”

Jungwoo beamed. “Great.”

“Now, shouldn’t you,” he directed most of the pointed comment at Yuta, “be getting to work? It’s almost 9.”

“Boss isn’t here yet,” Yuta pointed at the door connecting their two departments, “and I can’t get started until I talk to him.”

“But how will you know when he arrives if you’re in this department?”

Yuta frowned. “I guess. I'll see you for lunch?”

“Sure.” 

Yuta left. Jungwoo smiled down at Doyoung. “I’ll let you get back to work, hyung.”

Doyoung refused to wonder why he liked hearing that from Jungwoo as he waved the other off and got to work.

Doyoung sat back in the booth. The restaurant had filled, then begun to empty in the time they had sat here, eating, drinking, and teasing. Wedged between Yuta and Sicheng, he had the perfect vantage point to torture the interns across the table. Jungwoo and Jaehyun were safely at the far end, being gross. Sicheng didn’t seem interested, but Yuta leaned past Doyoung to inspect the younger employees. Donghyuck met him stare for stare, Mark seemed more interested in his food, and Yukhei and Kunhang could barely look at each other after the last round of ribbing. Xiaojun seemed to find the whole process amusing. The others had escaped to the relative safety of the other side of the booth.

“Come on,” Yuta wheedled. Doyoung hid a grin behind his glass. “You’re telling me none of you have ever gone for a dramatic confession?”

“I mean, I tried,” Donghyuck indicated Mark behind the other boy’s head, “but it kind of went over the recipient’s head.”

“Oh no,” Doyoung shook his head. “Mark, you fool.”

“What?” Mark jerked upright, ears going red.

Doyoung waved his glass at Donghyuck. “My intern goes all out for you and you can’t even figure out what he’s saying? Shame on you.”

“Yeah,” Donghyuck leaned on Mark, digging his chin into Mark’s shoulder, “don’t you think that’s a bit much, hyung. Pay attention to me.”

Mark blushed and sputtered. Donghyuck winked at Doyoung. Doyoung tipped his glass in a little salute. Maybe they would stop whining about each other soon. He and Yuta turned as one to the nearby couple. 

“Are you seriously telling me neither of you confessed?” Yuta pressed. “Did you just accidentally date?”

“Wouldn’t that be funny,” Donghyuck added. “I don’t see why you’re insisting you don’t know what he’s talking about, you wouldn’t shut up about it when you got together.”

“Oh, did you?” Doyoung propped an elbow on the table. Jaehyun tucked a piece of hair behind Jungwoo’s ear. Doyoung adjusted so he didn’t have to see that; things were going so well otherwise. “Why won’t you tell us? We’re so curious.”

Kunhang just giggled. Yukhei nudged him, blushing. “Shut up.”

Donghyuck cupped his mouth with one hand, like he could keep a secret from the rest of the table. “Push Yukhei, he’s weak.”

“Hey!”

“Yukhei,” Doyoung cocked his head. “Did you do something silly?”

“I,” he sighed. “Okay, fine. I might have gone a little overboard when I tried to ask Kunhang out.”

They pulled the rest of the group in as Yukhei finally explained. Jungwoo applauded, but he faced Doyoung, not Yukhei. Doyoung turned to pat where he could reach of Yukhei’s arm. “It’s okay, we all do stupid things sometimes. At least you got a boyfriend out of it?”

“That’s true.” Yukhei glanced at Kunhang, trying to hide a blush. Dejun laughed at him.

Ah, yes, the toughest nut to crack. Doyoung propped himself on his elbows. “Don’t just sit there and laugh at everyone else, Dejun. I’ve seen the pictures on your desk; share with the group.”

“I don’t want to talk about my private life at work.” Dejun took a bite.

“But we’re not at work,” Donghyuck pointed out. “We’re in a restaurant. And there’s alcohol. This is the definition of “not a work environment.”“

“That’s not the point. And you already know, why are you pushing this?”

Donghyuck grinned. “Because it’s fun.”

“What about you, then?” Xiaojun waved at Doyoung. “You don’t have any stories to share?”

“Do you see me dating?” Doyoung shot back. “There’s nothing interesting here, and I know all the other stories. You’re the last one. Do you have something to hide?”

He sighed. “Fine.” Xiaojun sat back, gaze roving over all those listening. “Let’s just say I’m well acquainted with two pairs of lips.”

Ah, that would explain a lot. Jaehyun seemed interested, but Taeyong almost choked and needed Taeil to rescue him.

Mark cocked his head. “Are you one of those people who kisses their mom on the lips or something?”

Doyoung almost choked on his drink. Donghyuk face-palmed. Xiaojun pinched the bridge of his nose. “No, Mark. I have two boyfriends.”

“And I introduced them!” Donghyuck cheered. “So buy me a drink.”

“I don’t see how that’s supposed to correlate.”

“I did something nice for you, you do something nice for me.”

“But you’re evil.”

Donghyuck gasped. While they bickered, Mark appeared to still be wrapping his head around the idea that someone could have two boyfriends. Doyoung tapped him. “Are you okay?”

“I’m just trying to figure out how that works?”

“Which part? The liking more than one person or actually dating them both?”

Mark looked at him helplessly. “Both?”

Jungwoo moved in Doyoung’s periphery, but he tried to ignore it. “Well, you can have feelings for as many people as you want, though I wouldn’t think more than a couple would be very manageable.”

Mark nodded slowly. “But how does it work?”

“I mean, I’ve never done it, so I don’t actually know, but I would assume it involves the same things as dating one person, only with more..”

Johnny ducked out while they were still talking, apparently to make it home in time to meet his boyfriend. Yuta nudged out of the booth after him to get to the bathroom. Doyoung sat back with his drink.

“For someone who isn’t experienced with polyamory, you know a lot about it.” 

Doyoung almost choked for the second time that night. Jungwoo sat right next to him, in the space left by Johnny and Yuta. Jaehyun hadn’t moved, and seemed pretty invested in debating something with Taeyong.

“When did you get here?”

“Just a second ago.” Jungwoo grinned. “Did I startle you? I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s okay.” Doyoung put down his drink. “What did you ask me?”

He leaned into the booth. “Just wondering where you got what you told Mark.”

“Oh.” He shrugged. “Common sense? It’s not like I’m speaking from personal experience, but it makes sense.”

Jungwoo nodded slowly. “Well, either way, I’m glad you did it. I imagine Dejun gets a lot of questions about his relationship, and even if Mark means things to be innocent, it probably gets tiring.”

Jaehyun scooted over until he sat pressed next to Jungwoo again. Yuta, coming back from the bathroom, rolled his eyes, but took Jaehyun’s seat instead. “What are we talking about?”

“How things went down with Dejun,” Jungwoo turned slightly to look at him; Jaehyun brushed a kiss over his cheek. Doyung traced the rim of his glass. He was almost out of wine.

That soon got corrected. With a little alcohol in his system, Doyoung didn’t quite feel the need to spite everything that came out of Jaehyun’s mouth. It was more playful.

Jungwoo poured another glass. Doyoung lifted it in the next of many toasts.

***

Doyoung woke to a cottonmouth and pounding head. That didn’t sound like his alarm. He reached out anyway and almost fell out of bed. Something wasn’t right. Doyoung braced himself and opened his eyes. He’d almost fallen because he lay on a couch that wasn’t his. The alarm that wasn’t his had to be coming from another room; it shut off abruptly. Jaehyun appeared in the doorway, wearing only a pair of pajama bottoms, and walked toward what was probably the kitchen, waving at Doyoung sleepily.

Doyoung forced himself not to dwell on the well-defined abs that had just passed him. That way lay dragons. And Jaehyun hadn’t even tried to explain what the fuck was going on here. Whose house was this, and how had he ended up here? Doyoung pulled himself upright. He remembered leaving the restaurant with his coworkers, just not anything after.

He followed Jaehyun into the kitchen. It was a nice kitchen, well-ordered with a little island in the center, and an open window space looking back at the living room. Jaehyun seemed to be making pancakes. He still hadn’t put on a shirt.

“How do you like your eggs?” He didn’t even look around when he asked.

“Is that all you have to say to me?” Doyoung gripped the doorframe. “You’re not even making eggs. What is going on?”

“So you don’t want eggs?” Jaehyun finally looked around. His grin showed off those annoying dimples. “That’s odd, I definitely remember you eating them.”

“What the fuck is going on? Whose house is this? Why didn’t I go home last night?”

“You seem a little tense, Doie. Why don’t you sit down?”

Jungwoo stuck his head out of the door to what must be the bedroom. “Don’t antagonize him, Jae. Good morning, hyung. I’m sorry, you must be so confused. You had a little too much to drink last night to be able to tell us how to get you home, so we brought you back with us. I’m also sorry we put you on the couch, but we didn’t think you’d be comfortable waking up in bed with us and there isn’t a guest room.”

No, he would not have been. “That’s fine, Jungwoo. Thank you for telling me.” Jaehyun only grinned again when Doyoung glared at him. “Do you live here together?”

Jungwoo shook his head. He into to the kitchen. Thankfully, he had a full pajama set on that didn’t match Jaehyun’s. “This is my apartment, but Jae likes it better than his so he stays over a lot.”

Jaehyun flipped the pancake. “Is it my fault I’m stuck in a lease on a bad apartment?”

“Yes.” Doyoung couldn’t help responding with Jungwoo. 

Jaehyun just snorted. “Come sit down and eat pancakes.”

Jungwoo pulled Doyoung to the island. Jaehyun slid them a stack of pancakes and several plates. “Save me a few, okay?” He went back to start the eggs..

Jaehyun sat across from him. Still no shirt. Doyoung focused on his food. “So?”

“So what?”

“How’s the food?”

Doyoung took some of the eggs. “It’s really good.”

Jaehyun grinned. “I’m pretty skilled, huh?”

He had no response to the way Jaehyun kept grinning at him even while Jungwoo laughed. But outside of work, the teasing was almost enjoyable. Doyoung relaxed a bit without having to watch them kiss all the time. He almost forgot that he didn’t have anything to wear to the office until Jaehyun disappeared and finally came back full dressed.

“I can help with that.” Jungwoo went back into his room. He returned with a stack of clothes. “I think we’re about the same shirt size, and I gave you a pair of Jae’s pants. Please wear the sweater, too, it’s supposed to be cold today.”

Doyoung wasn’t blushing. Okay, he was probably blushing as he took the clothes and escaped to the bathroom to change. He rushed through the process, not even trying to do his hair so he could escape this house. He could fix himself up at the office. Doyoung hoped he hadn’t made too much of a fool of himself getting out of Jungwoo’s place. He only relaxed once he was sat at his desk. Sicheng wouldn’t stop looking over, though.

“What?”

“Your night must have gone better than I expected it to.”

Doyoung frowned. “What does that mean?”

Sicheng pointed. “Why are you matching with Jaehyun?”

Doyoung turned to see Jaehyun wandering into the office wearing that damn couple sweater. He looked down. He was wearing Jungwoo’s half of the sweater set. His face must be on fire. “I’ll be right back.”

He zoomed to the bathroom before Sicheng could respond, making sure to avoid Jaehyun as he went. He slipped into the stall. Why would Jungwoo have given him this sweater in particular? And even asked him to wear it? He leaned against the door. Jungwoo hadn’t really inspected the clothes he’d handed Doyoung. He probably didn’t realize which sweater he’d handed over while he was trying to be nice. Doyoung slipped the sweater off. It was too warm for one in the office anyway, and Jungwoo probably wouldn’t like seeing Doyoung match with his boyfriend. Doyoung folded the sweater carefully, set it over his arm, and made his way back into the office. He set the folded sweater at the edge of his desk. He could return it and arrange for the rest of the clothes after work.

Doyoung waited until the rest of the office started clearing out before he approached Jungwoo’s desk with the sweater over one arm. Jaehyun’s coat remained on his chair, but he’d gone to the bathroom minutes before. Doyoung tapped a knuckle on Jungwoo’s desk to get his attention. Jungwoo stood with a smile. “What’s up?”

He proffered the sweater. “I thought you’d want this back.”

Jungwoo cocked his head. “Why did you take it off?”

Doyoung shrugged. “It’s too warm in here for a sweater. And once I realized which sweater I was wearing, I didn’t think you’d want me using it.”

Jungwoo shook his head. “I wouldn’t have given it to you if I didn’t want you to wear it.”

“But …” Jaehyun returned to his desk. He couldn’t get into it with Jaehyun around—they’d get off-track and he needed to take care of the sweater. He held it out again. “Thank you? But I think it’s time for you to take this back.”

Jungwoo put his hands behind his back. “I really don’t see the point of you just returning the sweater, hyung. Since you’re wearing all of my clothes, shouldn’t you return them all together?”

“I mean, I guess, but isn’t it easier to take this one now?”

He shrugged. “It’s not that important. How’s this: you can bring the clothes back all together and have dinner with us tonight. If that wouldn’t be too late for you.”

Please let him not be blushing. “I …”

“Jungwoo’s a really good cook,” Jaehyun chimed in from his desk. “I wouldn’t turn down a chance to eat his food.”

Jungwoo smirked. “So you have to come, okay?”

“Alright. I’ll have to go home and change. Is about 7 okay?”

Jungwoo beamed. “That works just fine. It’ll give me time to prepare properly.”

Doyoung left the office more confused than he’d entered it, still with that damn couple sweater over one arm.

***

Doyoung fidgeted with the bag holding the clothes in front of Jungwoo’s door. What was he doing here? He raised his hand to knock, but the door opened. Jaehyun grinned, somehow taking up the whole doorway. “Were you going to stand there all night?”

“Of course I wasn’t going to stand there all night, you can clearly see my hand raised to knock on the door.”

“Okay, then.” He didn’t stop smirking, but he did step back so Doyoung could enter. 

He’d been in too much of a hurry the last time to notice how cute the apartment was. Jungwoo kept a little dish on the side table near the door; two sets of keys clattered over each other amidst the loose change. Doyoung left his shoes and hung his coat on the rack. The apartment was open and airy, like Jungwoo. The bedroom, kitchen, and some kind of office flowed into the living space, which held a couch and a few chairs around a low table. Jungwoo knelt in the center, plating their food. 

He smiled at Doyoung. “Hello. Are those the clothes?”

Doyoung nodded.

“Great. You can just put them in the bedroom and we’ll be all ready to eat when you come back.”

Doyoung fiddled with the bag. Go into Jungwoo’s room by himself? Jaehyun came up behind him. “Come on, I’ll show you where to put them.”

He followed Jaehyun down the hall. Jaehyun held the door open so Doyoung could go first. The room was decorated in light, bright colors; the bed, well-made, took up the center, with a dresser in one corner and a set of bookshelves taking up the other wall.

“You can probably just leave the bag on his bed,” Jaehyun said from the doorway. 

“Right. Thanks.” He left the bag at the ends of the bed. 

“Did you like the sweater?” Jaehyun asked just as Doyoung passed him. Doyoung scurried out, praying his neck didn’t show too red. 

“I think the Yi project is going well, don’t you think?”

Jaehyun swung the door closed. “Yeah, it’s been good. We might be able to close soon.”

Doyoung breathed a little easier when they reached the table. Jungwoo had finished setting everything out and settled into a spot near the corner of the long side. Jaehyun took the seat next to him. Doyoung’s spot was just around the corner on the short side. He tucked himself down to eat. 

“So?” Jaehyun leaned onto Jungwoo. “Am I right or what?”

“Or what,” Doyoung flipped Jaehyun off when the other stuck his tongue out. “You said “really good.” This isn’t just really good, it’s amazing.”

Jungwoo blushed a little—that was rare—and nudged his boyfriend away. “Thank you. I’m glad you like it.”

“Of course.” Doyoung picked at his food.

“So what was Donghyuck doing that you had to dump him on me before?” Jaehyun resettled so he could actually eat. “He never said.”

“Oh, my God. He thinks it’s funny to make age jokes, which, fine, it probably is, but he keeps moving things around and trying to pretend he didn’t do anything. Which wouldn’t work even if he could keep a straight face, but he can’t yet.” They both laughed as he kept complaining, but it didn’t feel mocking. He managed to feed them a few more stories about his intern before Jungwoo asked what brought him to work for 127. Taeyong and Taeil’s dream help fuel the conversation until he could turn the question around, and by the time he noticed, the food was gone.

“I can help.” Doyoung made to stand. 

“Don’t be ridiculous.” Jaehyun took the plates. “You’re the guest. Jungwoo cooked, I can clean, you just relax.”

“Why don’t you choose a movie with me?” Jungwoo stood.

“Are we watching a movie?”

Jungwoo turned to him. “Do you not want to?”

There it was again. But the idea didn’t sound too bad. “No, I’d like to. Thank you.”

Jungwoo crouched in front of the entertainment center to pull a few dvds. “I remember you saying you like interesting romances, so I’ve got _Castaway on the Moon_, _Werewolf Boy_, _The Beauty Inside_, and _Il Mare_. Would you want to watch any of those?”

Doyoung considered. “Should I admit I’ve never seen _Castaway on the Moon_?”

“Why shouldn’t you admit that?”

He shrugged. “It’s been out for ages.”

Jungwoo cocked his head. “Let’s watch it now, then.” He urged Doyoung away and turned to set up the movie.

Doyoung perched at the end of the couch. Jaehyun dropped next to him. “What are we watching?”

Doyoung pulled himself a little straighter. “_Castaway on the Moon_.”

“Really?” Jaehyun’s dimples shone through when he grinned. “I’ve never seen it, is it good?”

“That’s why we’re watching it, I’ve never seen it either.”

“This should be fun for both of us, then.” Jaehyun wriggled a little. He shouldn’t find that cute. Jungwoo practically crawled into Jaehyun’s lap when he returned to the couch. Doyoung focused on the trailers for movies he’d already seen. 

_Castaway_ was a good movie. Good enough that Doyoung relaxed, first into the couch, then closer to Jaehyun. They didn’t cuddle; Jungwoo had taken full residence of Jaehyun’s lap when Jungyeon had thrown the first bottle. But their sides pressed together until Doyoung absorbed Jaehyun’s excess heat. Didn’t he have enough for Jungwoo? Why was Doyoung getting any? But he couldn’t move. 

When the credits rolled, Doyoung stretched, almost bumping Jaehyun. He ignored the thoughts that tried to make him blush by checking the time. “Oh, crap. I’ve got to go home.”

“Is everything okay?” Jungwoo peeked over Jaehyun’s shoulders.

“Mao—my cat—I didn’t leave food out for her because I thought I’d be back soon enough.” He stood. “She was okay yesterday because I left plenty of food, but I didn’t plan for tonight. I can’t leave her overnight again like this.”

Doyoung refused to let himself rush to the door. He took measured steps to reach his coat and shoes. The key bowl really was sweet. “Thank you for dinner. And the movie.”

“It was really good.” Jaehyun reached to help put on Doyoung’s coat. 

“It was. Thanks.” He toed on his shoes. 

“I’d like to see your cat sometime.” Sure he would. Jungwoo leaned against the wall. “Why did you name her Mao?”

“Oh.” Doyoung snorted. “My freshman roommate was a Chinese exchange student and he hated her. I brought her home and hadn’t named her yet, but he would not stop calling her “that cat.”“ He smirked. “So I named her Mao.”

They both lost it. Doyoung waited for them to calm before he said goodbye properly. The ride home felt warmer with all the food he’d eaten. He pouted at Mao when she wound around his feet. 

“Why can’t you feed yourself?” As though they actually wanted him to stick around. He went to the kitchen, Mao meowing at his heels. Mao dug into her food. He knelt to pet her. Maybe it was good that she’d called him away. It wouldn’t do to forget his place. He cuddled Mao as long as she let him.

***

Jungwoo and Jaehyun didn’t stop spending time with him after that. Doyoung almost forgot that he had found them annoying. He and Jaehyun still bickered, but the banter had lost its edge. Perhaps it was Jungwoo’s gentle presence evening things out. Jungwoo did get to meet his cat, as did Jaehyun, and Doyoung couldn’t have said how they ended up at his house.

Somehow Doyoung had ended up with an open invitation to Jungwoo’s apartment, where Jaehyun apparently spent all his time. Doyoung sent Taeyong an email. Maybe he should go over tonight with some food I’d his own. It would be a good way to thank them for all the time they’d been spending on him. He started when Mark knocked on the wall by his desk.

“What do you have for me?”

“I found the files you were looking for this morning.” Mark presented a stack of folders. “They were filed incorrectly.”

“Thank you, Mark.” Doyoung set the stack next to his computer. He flipped open the first one. He just needed a few more records to finish everything up. 

Mark lingered at the edge of Doyoung’s desk. Doyoung poked him. “What?”

Mark fidgeted. “It’s … this is probably not work-appropriate, but after what happened a few weeks ago I’ve been trying to pay more attention to stuff around here.”

“Okay?”

“So I was wondering …”

“What?”

“You and Jaehyun and Jungwoo, is that what you and Dejun were talking about?” Mark spit out the words like they would burn him.

Doyoung froze. Mark thought what? It wouldn’t do to freak out the intern. He sighed, the way Donghyuck did when he thought Mark was being silly. “Go back to work, Mark. We’re almost done for the day.”

Mark wilted. “Yes, hyung.”

He almost felt bad for the boy, but he couldn’t worry about anyone else right now. If Mark thought he might be dating Jaehyun and Jungwoo, he was clearly spending too much time with the couple. They didn’t want him—they wouldn’t want him. But they were both—he could admit this about Jaehyun now—they were both too nice to kick him out or tell him to fuck off when they wanted to have a date.

His fingers flew over the keys, trying to finish as quickly as possible so he could escape. This shouldn’t upset him. He shouldn’t care. They were just a cute couple in the office, a very nice couple who had been nice to him when they didn’t have to. If anything, he should just feel a little guilty for taking up their time. He combed through the records Mark had brought him. It provided a good distraction. 

Sicheng paused on his way out of the office. “Is everything okay?”

Doyoung stretched. “Why wouldn’t it be?”

“You look a little sad.”

He smiled. “Don’t worry about me.”

Sicheng eyed him, but apparently Doyoung’s smile held up, because he just waved and left. 

He made his way out of the office as soon as he finished. He might have fallen asleep on the ride home if it weren’t for the unrelenting churning in his gut. Mao went through her usual greeting as soon as he arrived. He bent to pick her up, but ended up sitting against the door. It was too tiring to pretend he didn’t know that Mark’s question had upset him because he wanted it to be true. And it never would. He cuddled Mao close as tears made their way into her fur. He needed to adjust to reality. At least it was the weekend now.

He pulled out his phone to text Taeyong. 

_Were you serious about letting me in on the new project?_

_Yes. Why?_

_Is there any chance you’d let me get started on it Monday? I’m done with everything else. _

_That doesn’t tell me why. _

_I just … I need to be doing something. Please?_

No response for several minutes. Mao squirmed out of his arms. “Traitor.”

_Johnny and Yuta are available. The info is in my office, so just go right there when you come in. _

_Thank you. _

_You’d better be okay. _

_I will be._

He turned his phone off and went to bed.

***

Doyoung slipped into Taeyong’s office first thing. Taeyong hadn’t even arrived yet, but he never locked his door. The office was large enough for several people to work comfortably without taking up space at Taeyong’s desk, protected by semi-opaque windows. The project proposal lay on his desk, so Doyoung dug in. He had almost finished setting up his half when Johnny and Yuta came in together.

“So, why are we starting on this now?” Yuta leaned on Taeyong’s desk to read the proposal. “I thought this project wasn’t up for another few months.”

Doyoung gave Johnny a copy of the proposal. “Technically, it’s not, but I finished the other project I was on and Taeyong was planning to let us help with this anyway. I’ve got most of my end set up, so I can just pass you the details you’ll need for the programming.”

“Are you sure we don’t want to wait for Taeyong or Taeil?” Johnny traced something on the paper. “This is kind of their baby, the way they talk about it.”

Doyoung pointed at the clock. “They’ll be here soon enough, if you want to wait. Or we can try to have something to show them.”

Johnny and Yuta exchanged a glance. Yuta stepped out of the office and Johnny pulled two chairs over. “What do you have?”

Doyoung showed him.

Taeyong seemed very happy with the work they’d done. Taeil, too, once he’d been informed about where his employees had moved to. When Johnny asked about their attachment to the project, both waved him off. 

“Starting the company was “our baby”,” Taeil told him. “We have a few pet projects, but that doesn’t mean we have to be the only ones working on them. You’ll do great.”

Taeyong wouldn’t stop watching Doyoung. Doyoung just shrugged at him. He didn’t want to talk about it. He just needed some time away from everything. This was a good project, too, taking up enough of his attention that he didn’t have room to think about anything else. They made good progress on the first stage (where Doyoung could be the most helpful), even if they ended up staying a little later than everyone else.

“Shouldn’t you go home?” Johnny put on his coat. “It’s late. The work will still be here tomorrow.”

Doyoung shrugged. “I’m almost done with this section. It’s easier to get it done now so we can just move ahead to something new tomorrow.” He smiled, but it probably wasn’t very convincing. “Besides, it’s not like I’m keeping anyone up, it’s just my cat at home.”

Johnny eyed him. “I guess it’s up to you. But try not to overwork yourself, okay?”

He waved Johnny off. “I’ll be fine. Say hi to Kun for me.”

Johnny waved. “I’ll do that. Good night.”

He only needed a few more minutes to wrap everything up. The office was dark by the time he left, but that just meant he didn’t have to talk to anyone else. It was easy to pretend to the world that things were fine on the way home, even if he broke down once he was home with Mao.

***

By the time they reached the second phase of the project, Doyoung had little to do directly. He stuck to hiding in Taeyong’s office anyway; he could process accounts and work ahead on his laptop just fine in here. The windows kept him from seeing what went on just as much as they protected him from being seen, but he got the impression that Jaehyun had temporarily inherited Donghyuck because when he called for an intern to help with something, Yukhei or Kunhang came instead.

Yukhei had been nice enough to not question things when Doyoung asked him to take care of something, but Kunhang would not stop asking questions. Questions about work were fine. It was only when he started asking about the office couple that things got a little tricky.

“But why are you working in here all the time?” Kunhang took the folder. “Everyone misses you.”

“Don’t you work in the other department? What would you have seen about people missing me?” Doyoung pulled his bagged lunch closer.

“I have to move around sometimes, you know? I see things. I think Jaehyun and Jungwoo miss you the most, they keep looking over here. Weren’t you three getting closer? Did something happen?”

“Okay, that’s enough.” Doyoung got up to nudge Kunhang out of the office. “Get back to work.”

He chose not to comment on how Donghyuck rushed over as soon as he saw Kunhang leaving the office.

***

Where had all the interns gone? Doyoung scooped up the file and left the office. Sure, it was the end of the workday, but they couldn’t all have left him to work by himself. At least the filing room was close to their main office, and he could leave afterward. Jaehyun’s coat still hung over his chair, but neither he nor Jungwoo were in the office. 

Doyoung hurried to the filing room. If he was lucky, he could finish this and leave without having to talk to anyone. Someone had left the light on. He scoured the cabinets for the right one to put his file away. Once he’d succeeded, he headed for the door. Jaehyun and Jungwoo stepped around the corner.

“Wait—” Jaehyun called, but he was already turning. He tried the door; it was locked.

“You can’t leave, hyung,” Donghyuck called through the door. “Not until you talk things out.”

“What the fuck; let me out of here, you little shit. I have work to do.”

“No, you don’t.” Donghyuck laughed. “You’re done for the day. You’re just trying to avoid a conversation. You wouldn’t even let anyone else talk about them. You’re overworking yourself trying to avoid something that isn’t a problem, hyung. Just get it over with.”

Well, fuck. Doyoung let go of the doorknob. How was it that such a large room felt so small now?

“Are you going to talk to us?” Jaehyun edged a little closer in Doyoung’s periphery. “Or are you going to try to run away again?”

Doyoung breathed away the red in his gaze. “Fuck off, it’s not running away if I legitimately have work to do.” He crossed his arms over his chest. He shouldn’t feel guilty for protecting himself.

Jungwoo put a hand on Jaehyun’s chest. “Would you talk to us, please, Doyoung? Why are you avoiding us?”

Jungwoo actually sounded sad. That sadness tugged at him; too much. Doyoung slid down the door until he hit the floor. He’d messed everything up. “I’m sorry.” He tried to get his breathing under control. Jaehyun tugged Jungwoo over with him until they both sat a little ways away from Doyoung. “Mark said something stupid that got me to admit to myself that I was being stupid. I thought the new project would give me some time to get my head on straight. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“What do you mean, you were being stupid?” Jungwoo asked gently. “We all know you’re very smart.”

Keeping secrets was too tiring. “I forgot—I let myself forget—that you two wouldn’t want to spend all your time around me. Mark asked if we were dating.”

“Why is that stupid?” Jaehyun asked. “Didn’t we just have to educate him about polyamory a few weeks ago?”

“Yeah, but,” Doyoung waved between them. “That’s not related to this.”

Jaehyun opened his mouth, but stopped when Jungwoo laid a hand on his knee. “But what does that have to do with you needing time away from us? That’s what you said, right, that you were avoiding us because you needed to get your head sorted out. Why does it matter what Mark said?”

Doyoung closed his eyes. “This is going to sound really stupid.”

“It’s not.”

He shrugged. “I had a crush on you,” he waved to where Jaehyun should still be, “when we first started working here. I don’t think you noticed, and it wasn’t like it was that big a deal. But then you started working here,” he waved at Jungwoo, “and I got a crush on you, too. And obviously you started dating each other. Which is great, I’m glad you’re happy, but Mark was being stupid because there’s no reason for you to be interested in me, right?” He opened his eyes. Maybe he should have felt something over letting out secrets he hadn’t even told his best friends, but he was just tired. “So I just needed a little time to remind myself of that.”

Jaehyun and Jungwoo looked at each other. When they looked back, they each reached for one of his hands. He let them, though after what he’d said there shouldn’t be any reason for them to want to hold his hands.

“I see why you’ve been thinking that,” Jungwoo started slowly, “but I’m afraid you missed a few things. I won’t speak for Jaehyun since he’s right here and can do that for himself, but I like you a lot.” Wait, what? “I thought you were cute when I first joined the office, and I could tell there was something with you and Jaehyun, but neither of you said anything about it at first. And then Jae asked me out, and you never said anything, so I didn’t know what to make of it.” He glanced at Jaehyun. “Would you like to defend yourself, or should I just summarize?”

“Shush.” Jaehyun nudged him; was that a blush? “I didn’t realize how much I liked you at first; we’ve always been competitive at work, but I thought that was just a personality thing? So I didn’t think much of it until Jungwoo pointed out some things. So I guess that’s why you got the impression you did?”

He had no words for this. Jungwoo chuckled. “What he’s trying to say is we’re sorry if we gave you the impression that we weren’t interested at first, because we are. It just took us a while to work that out with each other and then start trying to ask you out.”

Ask him out. Doyoung sat very still. “You’re saying you both like me? Seriously?”

Jungwoo suppressed a smile, nodding. “Yes. The day Mark said that to you, we were actually planning to have dinner with you so we could ask you to be our boyfriend.”

Doyoung blinked once, twice, three times. He bent until his head touched his lap. “I’m an idiot.”

“Yea—” Jungwoo must have smacked Jaehyun to shut him up.

“You’re not an idiot. Don’t encourage him, Jae. We could have been more straightforward, especially if we noticed you couldn’t tell that we were flirting with you. It’s only been a few weeks, it’s not like you did anything unforgivable.” Jungwoo touched his knee. “Look at us, please?”

Doyoung raised himself up. They were holding hands, too, creating a little circle. “This isn’t exactly how we wanted to do this,” Jaehyun started, “but we’ll take what we can. Do you want to be our boyfriend, Doie?”

He still hated that name from anyone else. But hearing it here somehow made it a lot easier to breathe. He squeezed the hands holding his. “You gotta take me on a date that I know is a date first.”

Jungwoo laughed. “We promise.” It was nice, just to sit there with his boyfriends and decompress.

Jaehyun leaned forward, elbows on his knees. “So do I have to wait for that date to get a kiss, too, or?”

Jungwoo laughed. Doyoung used the hand still holding Jaehyun’s to pull him closer. “Do you not know how to be cute, or?”

But Doyoung kissed him anyway. Jaehyun released his hand to cup the side of his face. For all their usual bickering, the kiss was sweet. It reminded him of a teenager’s first kiss, without most of the awkwardness. Jaehyun smiled into it; he had to be dimpling. Jungwoo stroked the back of Doyoung’s hand with his thumb, remaining at the edge of his awareness. It should have felt awkward to know he was being watched, but it only made him happier.

When Jaehyun pulled back, Jungwoo turned Doyoung toward him by his jaw. Kissing Jungwoo was as different as he might have expected if he’d ever thought this far. Jungwoo was gentle, but provocative, not helped by Jaehyun’s hand still resting on Doyoung’s neck. Doyoung fumbled for Jungwoo’s tie to pull him closer. 

Eventually, Jaehyun nudged them apart. “Remember, Donghyuck’s probably right outside the door waiting to see if we made up or not. That’s not really how I want our first time trying anything to go.”

Jungwoo made a face. “That’s true.”

Doyoung scrunched his nose. “I’ve got to get him back for that. We can’t let him think that he can get away with this kind of thing.”

Jungwoo gave an unholy grin. “Would you like to teach him a lesson?”

He should not find that face attractive. “I mean, I don’t want to scar him for life, but yes, a lesson would be nice.”

“Hmm.” Jungwoo gazed at the door as though he had x-ray vision. “He’s probably waiting right out there, you said?”

Jaehyun shrugged. “I wouldn’t put it past him to try eavesdropping.”

Jungwoo glanced back to Doyoung. “How well do you fake tears?”

Oh, he was in for a wild time with these two.

***

On the day they’d arranged for the _date_, Doyoung wrapped up as soon as he possibly could. He had someone—two someones, in fact—waiting for him. Jaehyun was reading something by their desks, but Jungwoo came to pull him over. They sandwiched him between them as they all walked out; he wondered if it was to make sure he couldn’t run away.

“Where are we going?”

Jaehyun swung their joined hands. “We were thinking dinner at this restaurant you’d like, and then there’s a light show going on at the zoo later this evening.”

“That sounds really nice.”

“Just nice?” Jungwoo dragged them in the right direction. “I see we have our work cut out for us.”

“That should scare me, but I kind of want to see what you come up with.” Doyoung relaxed into the evening. And when they took him back to Jungwoo’s place, he dropped his keys in the bowl.

***

Doyoung drifted awake between two warm bodies in a bed that wasn’t his, but might be someday. Jungwoo was cuddled close to him from behind, but Jaehyun had drifted away in his sleep. Doyoung snuggled closer to his other boyfriend. It was a good day to sleep in.


End file.
